Lottery win could give $10M boost to Missouri

A winning Powerball ticket purchased in Missouri will net someone a windfall and an unexpected, though modest, boost for state government coffers.

Budget director Linda Luebbering said Thursday that the state could end up collecting approximately $10 million for income tax on the jackpot, assuming Missouri's winner opts for a lump-sum payment. The current year's budget is $24 billion, which includes about $8 billion from general tax collections.

"It's a good positive effect, but it's not significant in the $8 billion budget," Luebbering said.

A convenience store in the town of Dearborn sold one of two winning Powerball tickets in the drawing Wednesday for a $587.5 million total jackpot. The other ticket was sold in Arizona.

Officials said the state could collect income taxes even if the newly minted millionaire only bought the winning ticket while passing through the town north of Kansas City and does not live in Missouri.

However, the prospect of extra cash in state coffers does not mean officials are planning a spending spree.

"Those things are generally a blip," said Schaefer, R-Columbia. "It's nice to have them, but operationally in a $24 billion budget, it tends not to make that much difference."

In addition to income taxes, revenue generate from the Missouri Lottery is used to fund education. Missouri Lottery Executive Director May Scheve Reardon said Thursday that during the buildup to the jackpot starting Oct. 3, revenue from lottery sales will generate more than $10.7 million for public education.